Reimagining School and Teacher Education in India through the Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Indian Knowledge Systems

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming educational systems globally, offering new possibilities for personalized learning, adaptive assessment, and teacher professional development. In India, this technological shift coincides with renewed policy and scholarly emphasis on Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), which foreground holistic development, ethical education, and culturally rooted pedagogy. This paper examines the potential of integrating AI and IKS to reimagine school and teacher education in India in a manner that is technologically advanced yet philosophically grounded. Drawing on contemporary research on AI in education, teacher education, ethics, and indigenous knowledge integration, the paper develops a conceptual framework that positions AI as an enabling tool guided by the epistemological and ethical wisdom of IKS. The analysis explores implications for curriculum design, pedagogy, assessment, and teacher education, highlighting the roles of educators as facilitators, mentors, and moral guides in AI-rich learning environments. The paper further situates the discussion within the policy context of the National Education Policy 2020, while critically examining challenges related to equity, cultural dilution, data ethics, and teacher preparedness. It concludes by proposing a holistic, human-centered model for AI–IKS integration that emphasizes ethical grounding, inclusivity, capacity building, and community participation, envisioning an education system that is future-ready, culturally rooted, and value- based.